Chick pea-chorizo-pork stew

This recipe evolved because I missed the callos dish that my mom prepared for us. Callos is made with beef tripe and has chorizo and red bell peppers and is served over rice. When I moved to England, I didn’t know where to buy tripe because there weren’t any butchers that were close by and the bigger supermarkets didn’t have tripe on their shelves. I had to figure out how to get my callos fix without having to buy tripe. It was a brainwave when I remembered that oxtail is also used to make kare-kare (which is a peanut-based stew popular in the Philippines). So I figured, if I used oxtail soup, then it would give me the taste of tripe.

This is an excellent soup for the winter months when you need something hearty and hot. It can be served on rice or eaten on its own. If you plan to not have it as a rice topping, I’d suggest adding another can of chick peas or a can of cannellini beans or red kidney beans to make it more substantial. You can choose to add a spicy kick to it by adding either the cayenne pepper or the tabasco sauce. I’ve been known to add both though. It just adds a really comforting heat to the stew during the winter months.

This is a slow-cook recipe but it is definitely worth the wait!

Inspired by a tweet from Daphne Oseña Paez, requesting that I share the recipe, I challenged myself to weigh ingredients and approximate amounts. So here goes(…nothing?!?)!

Ingredients:

1 kilo belly pork cut into cubes

226 grams of chorizo, cut into 1/4 inch disks

2 400g cans of chopped tomato

1 400g can of Heinz Oxtail soup

1 400g can of chickpeas (or 240g of dried chickpeas soaked in water overnight to soften)

1 tablespoon olive oil

600g potatoes, peeled and diced

2 teaspoons garlic, chopped finely

2 large white onions,

3 heaping teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon cumin

2 pork stock cubes

1 litre water

salt and pepper to taste

1 heaping teaspoon cayenne pepper, optionalor

2 teaspoons tabasco sauce, optional

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a stock pot on medium heat. Add the chorizo disks and fry until they crips around the edges. When the chorizo oil turns the bottom of the pan slightly red, add the onions. Reduce the heat slightly Once the onions are softened and slightly translucent, add the garlic sautee for 2 minutes (approximately).

Add the pork and sautee for about 15 minutes, until fat in the pork belly cubes have rendered slightly and the flesh has lost its pink colour. Add chopped tomatoes, oxtail soup, pork stock cubes, 500 ml of the water and spices. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, making sure the pork pieces and chorizo don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

Once the stock begins to boil, reduce heat to allow it to simmer for 30 minutes.

Increase heat again, to add potatoes and chick peas and remaining water. Add salt and pepper to taste. It’s at this point that I add either 1 heaping teaspoon of cayenne pepper or 2 teaspoons of tabasco sauce for a kick. You don’t have to add both if you don’t want it to be too spicy. Bring to a slow boil and reduce heat and allow to slow cook for a further hour, or until the pork is tender.

This will serve 4-6 greedy people if served as an all-in-one meal or 8-10 if served over a bowl of rice.